14. Late Alhaji Alhassan Dantata
Kolanut trader. He was the wealthiest man in West Africa during his time. He started the Dantata dynasty and his descendants are some of the richest people in Nigeria (Dangote / Dantata family).
Dantata’s father was Abdullahi, a man from the village of Danshayi, near Kano. Dantata was born in Bebeji in 1877, one of several children of Abdullahi and his wife, both of whom were traders and caravan leaders. His father died in Bebeji, and his mother moved to Gonja, now in northern Ghana. The children were too young to succeed to their father’s position and to manage his considerable wealth. They all received their portion according to Islamic law. Maduga Amarya, like her mother in law, was a trader of wealth in her own right. Indeed she was known to be such a forceful character that nobody in the Zango would take her to wife. She therefore decided to leave the children in Bebeji, in the care of an old slave woman, while she moved to Accra where she became one of the wealthier Hausa traders. The slave woman was known as “Tata” from which circumstance young Alhassan became known as Alhassan Dantata because of her role as his ‘mother’ (” Dan-tata” means “son of Tata” in Hausa language).
Alhassan was sent to a Qur’anic school (madrasah) in Bebeji and as his share of his father’s wealth (as so often happens), seemed to have vanished, he had to support himself. The life of the almajiri (Qur’anic student) is difficult, as he has to find food and clothing for himself and also for his malam (teacher) and at the same time read. Some simply beg while others seek paid work. Alhassan worked and even succeeded at the insistence of Tata in saving. His asusu, “money box” (a pottery vessel) purchased by Dantata and set in the wall of the house can still be seen.
When he was about 15 years of age, Alhassan joined a Gonja bound caravan to see his mother. He purchased some items from Bebeji, he sold half of them on the way and the rest in Accra. When he saw his mother, he was very delighted hoping she would allow him to live without doing any work since she was one of the wealthier local traders. After only a rest of one day, she took him to another malam and asked him to stay there until he was ready to return to Kano and he worked harder in Accra than he did in Bebeji. After the usual reading of the Qur’an, Alhassan Dantata had to go and beg for food for his malam, and himself. When he worked for money on Thursdays and Fridays, Alhassan Dantata would not be allowed to spend the money for himself alone, his malam always took the lion’s share (this is normal in Hausa society). After the visit, his mother sent him back to Bebeji where he continued his studies. Even though now a teenager, Dantata continued to insist that he must save something everyday.
Alhassan Dantata (1877– 17 August 1955) was a northern Nigerian kola nut trader and the wealthiest man in West Africa at the time of his death.
CLICK HERE to join our BBM Channel for faster updates
TOP POSTS YESTERDAY
- Richest Nigerian musicians and their luxurious lifestyles [+Pics]
- The 10 worst soccer transfers of all time
- Nigerian Billionaires & their young endowed wives (+Photos)
- List of all Illuminati members in Nigeria (+Pics)
- 10 WWE divas who dated multiple wrestlers (With Pictures)
- 10 Signs you are about to get dumped!
- For one week, I decided to SLEEP with my boyfriend whenever he wanted (Here’s what happened)
- 10 popular Nigerian celebrities and how they lost their virginity – You will NEVER believe this! (+Photos)
- Top 10 sexiest girls in the world 2015 – See who is number 1 (+Photos)
- What girls look for in a guy before falling for them – See this to become a “chick magnet”
- Miss Imo state Photogenic Queen takes of bra and stuns in new photos..
Discussion about this post